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Gatekeepers
The Holy Order of the Gatekeepers, which are divided into the Higher ''Order and the ''Lower, are a fanatical holy order that serve the Holy Hierarchy'' ''diligently. They operate as the primary source of defense in the Tower of Light and County Districts, though typically not as a police force. History The first Holy Order of the Gatekeepers was formed long ago, as the very first militia defense force of the Holy Hierarchy. It is said that their one and only duty was to defend the Iron Gate of Glaze, which faced endless hordes of enemies yet never once fell. The Gatekeepers did not answer to any authority, save for the Royal Pope. This eventually led to their destruction, as when the Pope was asked to stand down after intense politicking, the Gatekeepers led a rebellion that was swiftly cut down by the first Minister's armies. Since then, the Gatekeepers were a forgotten fragment of history. The second Order of the Gatekeepers were formed as a response to the Begotten invasion. Though mostly eradicated in the ensuing chaos, the Holy Order managed to survive to protect the newly-founded Holy Hierarchy. This new order of Gatekeepers was tasked with defending the great Town of Light, its county districts, and its grand wall that protected it from the hordes of death beyond. The Gatekeepers successfully held this wall for decades, even when faced against the forces of Satan and the Undergod. Even the Gores and their legions of tanks could not penetrate these walls. The Town of Light would later fall to the Undergod, following Grand Royal Emissary of Light Adyssa's ascendance to Skylight. With the Pope gone and the Town of Light's Gatekeepers slaughtered to a man, a grave blow was dealt to the Holy Hierarchy. Despite the eradication of the main branch of the Gatekeepers, the order still lives on in the county districts, protecting the Tower of Light. This order is less strict than the one before it, as its members are allowed to keep their names and personalities as a 'treat' from the new Pope himself. This Order holds an infamous reputation for being disloyal and sinful, with its members often abandoning their posts, as well as indulging in rape and banditry. Several Great Holy Orders were empowered by the Pope to put dissenters into shape. Inquisitors sniff through the ranks of the disciples for evidence of heresy or enemy infiltration. The great Knights of Sol rally the men to fight alongside them, to take land in their name. When even these greater holy orders are not enough to rid thoughts of treachery within the ranks, then there is a last resort. Rumors abound of the Pope's secret dungeon, where disloyal disciples and innocent wanderers alike go to suffer the pains of a thousand deaths for the royal one's amusement. Command Structure The Lowly Order, a sardonic term known coined by the nobles, is filled exclusively with commoners, and otherwise expendable people. As the only way for a man of a peasant bloodline to achieve any real power is to join the Gatekeepers, it is no doubt that the order is filled with all sorts of unseemly types. The vast majority of recruits are treated like worthless meat shields until they prove their physical and religious valor. Disciple - Recruit rank. Mostly composed of criminals or otherwise insane suicidal zealots. A disciple usually proves themselves by surviving tasks that their rank leaders did not expect them to. Disciples are equipped with swords, maces, or if they are lucky, a spear and a shield. Acolyte - Average guardsmen and foot soldiers. Given more meals a day and decent equipment such as plate armor, and armed with a spear, a shield, and a musket. An Acolyte is a proven member of the order and is expected to hold the wall at all costs. Emissary - High Gatekeepers. The greatest rank or role that a commoner can ever achieve. One of the closest things a peasant can feel to nobility, though still far from it. Emissaries are the captains of the Order, and are required to enforce discipline and lead the Hierarchy's crusades. High Gatekeepers who have served the Hierarchy well and for extended periods of time can be allowed to join the Knights of Sol or the Inquisition. Standard Equipment Spear & Shield - The average equipment of a lowly gatekeeper. Disciples typically have spears and shields of significantly worse quality than Acolytes due to their expendability. A gatekeeper is expected to master the spear and shield, or graduate to a musket through their own hard work. Peppershot - A favorite among wanderers for their primary use, the Peppershot takes a backstage position in the armory of Gatekeepers. Favored as a sidearm that can be quickly drawn and fired, it allows only one round in the chamber at a time, and has an extremely long reload period. Despite this, its pop-a-shot caliber round is fired at an extremely high velocity and reasonable accuracy, making it efficient for executions or assassinations. Musket - The primary weapon of the Acolytes and Emissaries, the Musket is, like the Peppershot, a single-round weapon. Despite this, it maintains a higher reload time, and is one of the few weapons in the wasteland that can be equipped with optics, allowing magnification for target recognition over long distances. The Musket is also devastatingly powerful, firing stockpiled high-caliber munitions from the era of the Empire of Light. Blunderbuss - Although not favored, the Blunderbuss is often used sparingly by the Gatekeepers. Firing one grapeshot shell at a time with an extremely long spread, it is ideal for filling a fucklet with pellets at close range. The extremely short range of said weapon requires the user to close enormous distance against the target, making it risky to use but effective. Repeating Grapeshot - A much-appreciated improvement over the Blunderbuss, the Repeating Grapeshot is a double-action top break shotgun revolver, featuring a 7-chambered cylinder. Developed by the Inqusition for the purpose of executing demons point-blank with 7 trigger pulls, the Repeating Grapeshot fires, as the name suggests, grapeshot. Despite being master-crafted in comparison to the Blunderbuss, its accuracy is not much better, but its outstanding rate of fire typically compensates for this. The Repeating Grapeshot is a rarity in the ranks of the Gatekeepers, typically only seen by the most outstanding of Acolytes or Emissaries. Corpsecrank - A murder machine devised by the tech-priests of the Holy Hierarchy long ago, with the express purpose of mass-producing corpses, one crank at a time. It utilizes a crank-rotated revolving cylinder with up to 8 grapeshot shells loaded at once, fired with devastating accuracy in contrast to the Blunderbuss or even the Repeating Grapeshot. The Corpsecrank is rarely fielded by even Emissaries, and is typically reserved for Knights of Sol. These guns are extremely valued by the Hierarchy, as the means and knowledge to produce them has been lost. Other Weapons - Due to the relatively volatile nature of the lower ranks of the Gatekeepers, there is often great variance in the arms held by the Gatekeepers. It is not uncommon to see swords, maces, or clubs used by the lower ranks. Even holy relics are sometimes used in desperation. Category:Holy Hierarchy